Material-handling equipment



Feb, 17, 1925.

M. R. BUTLER MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT Filed Feb. 1, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i- QMMQZ edom u.

Murqan R.BuL1Er Feb, 17. 1925. I 1,526,527

M. R. BUTLER MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT Filed Feb. 1, 1924 2 Sheds-Sheet 2 Morgan R-Esutlar Patented Feb. 17, 1925.

MORGAN R. BUTLER, OII' WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN.

MATERIAL-HANDLING EQUIPMENT.

Application 111m February 1,1924. 's'ena as. cation.

To all whom it may concern: a

Be it known that I, MORGAN R. BUTLER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Waukesha, in the county of Waukesha and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Material- Handling Equipment, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification. V

This invention relates to certain new and useful Improvements in material handling equipment and refers more particularly to a bin structure from which the material is discharged either direct to an aggregate mixer or means of conveyance, or to a measuring hopper and then to an aggregate mixer or means of conveyance. q Bin structures of the character described are of considerable size and many obstacles are met in their transportation; Heretofore the binshave been shipped in sectionsf an'df set up at their destination by bolting or riveting, requiring the services of a number of men and a comparatively long period of time.

Having this objection to the present types of bin structures now in general use in mind, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a knock-down or collapsible bin capable of being readily set up or knocked down, thus facilitating its shipmentand decreasing the expense of setting the same up for operation.

This invention has for another of its objects to provide a bin structure of the character described having a supporting base member to which the bin sides are hingedly connected and means for readily securing the sides in normal position.

A further object of this invention resides in the provision of a bin structure of the character described having a support, sides hingedly connected to the support and capable of being dropped or folded against the sides thereof, a partition hingedly secured to the support at a medial point and adapted to rest on the top of the support, and means for readily detachably securing the walls and partitions in vertical position to form a compartment bin.

And a still further object of this invention resides in the provision of a knock-down or foldable bin of the character described having an improved key and wedge means for securing the same in active position whereby the walls ofthe bi'n'may be readily set in positlon wlthout requiring the use of expens ve tools or the services of expert labor. 1th the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description procceds my invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and'more particularly defined by the appended cl aims, it being understood that such changes 1n the recise embodiment of the herein-disclosed invention 'may be made as come within'the scope of the claims. In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of my invention constructed according to the best mode I have so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

Flgure 1 1s a perspective view of a bin structure embodying my invention, parts thereof being broken away to illustrate details of construction FigureQ'i's a perspective view of my improved type of bin illustrating the same in nook-down or collapsed condition and loaded on a flat car for transportation.

Flgure 3 is a fragmentary, perspective view of the lever for actuating the bin discharge gates and illustrating the manner of detachably mounting the lever and connectlng the same with the discharge gates, and

Figure 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary view taken through Figure 1, on the plane of the line 4-4 to illustrate the means for readily detachably securing the bin walls in set up position.

In bin constructions of that type used for road and other construction work, it is desirable that the bin proper be mounted on a support of sufficient height to permit the passage thereunder of a means of conveyance into which the material may be discharged. This necessitates a structure of considerable height which must be disassembled before being shi ped and then reassembled at its place 0 use. Heretofore, it has been customary to either bolt or rivet the bin structure together, with necessitates the services of a number of skilled men and considerable number of hours for its erection.

This invention contemplates the provision of a bin structure, the walls of which are so connected with the supported structure or frame work as to permit its being folded or collapsed for loading on a flat freight car, and its ready reassembly in a very short time b unskilled labor.

In tie accompanying drawing, in which like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, the numerals 5 and 5' designate pairs of vertical standards or supports of the supporting frame work wh1ch are preferably formed of angle iron and the upper ends of each pair are connected by transverse beams 7 and the upper ends of the adjacent standards of opposite pairs are connected by transverse beams 6, sultable gusset plates'S being provided to lnsure rigidity of construction. The members 7 are preferably on a slightly lower plane than thebeams 6 to afi'ord a support for the ends of longitudinally extending, medial brace beams 9 which brace the bottom 10 of the bin structure. The supporting frame is further braced by diagonal and transverse members 11, the members 11' extending from the beams 6 to the adjacent standards bein arranged to permit the passage of a 3 suita le conveying vehicle therebeneath.

The bin structure proper comprises end and side walls 12 and 13, respectively, and a partition wall or member 14 when it is desired to devide the bin into compartments. The wall members 13 and 12 are movably secured to the supporting frame adjacent the side edges of the bottom 10, by suitable hinge fittings 15 and 16, respectively, in the present embodiment the fittings 15 being connected with the beams 6 and the fittings 16 with the underside of the bottom 10.-

The partition 14 has its lower end movably connected with the bottom wall 10 adjacent the brace beams 9 by hinge fittings or other suitable means 17.

Secured along the side marginal edges of the walls 13 are angle members 18 provided at intervals with slotted openings 19 which register with openings 20 in the end walls 12 near the marginal edges thereof when the walls are in their substantially vertical or -normal positions to permit the insertion therethrough of suitable retaining means. In the present embodiment, this retaining means comprises a T-shaped key member 21 adapted to be inserted through the registered slots or openings 19 and 20 with thelr heads 22 abutting the angle members 18 and their ends 23 projecting beyond the end walls 12 and provided with slots 24 through which wedge members 25 are driven to firmly, but readily removably, secure the bin walls in assembled position.

The partition wall or member 14 has an o angle plate or member 26 secured along each side marginal edge which is provided with spaced slots or elongated openings 27 adapted to register with slots or openings 28 in the adjacent side walls 13 when the partition 05 and side Wall a e ai d t a em e P sition. The means for securing the partition in position are identical with the means for securing the end and side walls in assembled position and, therefore, further description thereof is deemed unnecessary. If desired a reinforcing plate or strip 29' may be secured to each side wall 13 in register with the partition member when in vertical position, said strip being provided with openings aligned with the openings 27 and 28.

Each compartment defined by the partition member has a discharge opening 30 across which a gate member 31 is movable, each discharge opening preferably having a measuring hopper 32 in register therewith to first receive the material to meter the same prior to being loaded onto a suitable means of conveyance. The gate members 31 are preferably connected by a single bar 33. one end of which is detachablv connected with an actuating lever 34 by a link member 35 having one end detachably connected with the lever 34 by a removable bolt or pivot 36 and its other end detachablv connected with the adjacent end of the bar 33 by a removable bolt or pivot 37. The upper end of the lever is removably pivoted between a pair of s aced bracket members 38 secured to the adiacent end wall 12 by a removable pivot pin or bolt 39.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the adjacent pairs of end supporting members 5 are mounted on skids or other members 40 and when it is desired to ship the bin. the gate operating lever 34 is detached by re-- moving the pivot pin or bolt 39 and either of the pivots 36 or 37, the wedges 25 being then disconnected by tapping the narrow or smaller ends thereof. and the T-shaped key members removed permitting-the walls 12 and 13 to be dropped or folded against the supporting frame and the partition member 14 to fold over the bottom 10.

The bin structure may thus be. as an entirety. readily secured on a flat freight car 41.. as illustrated in Fimire 2. either by removing the skids 40 and bolting the ends of the supports 5 directly to the car floor or by. leaving the skids'40 in position and providing suitable means. not shown, for clamping the same to the floor.

When it is desired to set up the bin. the partition member and the side walls 13 are swung into position and the attaching means inserted through the aligned slots or openings after which the end walls are similarly secured in position and the operating lever attached. as will be readily obvious. Y

With this construction it is only necessary to remove two bolts or pivot pins and remove the wedges and the T-shaped keys to collapse the bin. or, to reassemble the bin. insert the keys and wedges, thus facilitating the ready and convenient setting up or kn la g down of the bin structure.-

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a collapsible bin structure, a support having a bin bottom carried thereby, and side members extending upwardly from the bottom to vform the bin, the side members being adapted to be moved with respect to the bottom to reduce the height of the structure for transportation.

2. In a collapsible bin structure, a support, side members, means hingedly connecting the side members with the support whereby the same may be collapsed thereagainst for transportation, and means detachably securing the side members together above the support to form the bin.

3. In a collapsible bin structure, a support, side wall members, means hingedly securing said side wall members to the support whereby the same may be collapsed against the support to reduce the height of the structure, a partition member, means hingedly mounting said partition member medially of the support, and means for securing the partition member and side members in active position above the support to form a compartment bin.

4. In a collapsible bin structure, a support, a bottom floor secured to the top of the support, side wall members, means hingedly mounting the side wall members adjacent the marginal edges of the bottom, means securing the side wall members in vertical position to form a bin, a material discharge in the bottom floor, a gate member movable across the material discharge, an actuating lever for the gate member, means detach ably connecting the actuating lever with one side wall member. and means detachably ronnecting the lever with the gate member.

5. In a collapsible bin structure, a support, a bottom floor secured to the top of the support, side wall members, means hingedly mounting the sidewall members adjacent the marginal edges of the bottom floor,

means securing the side wall members in vertical position to form a bin, a partition member adapted to divide the bin into compartments, means hingedly mounting said partition member on the support, the partition member being movable to lie on the bottom floor and the side wall members being foldable against the support, means for securing the partition and side wall members in position forming a bin having compartments, a material discharge in the bottom floor in communication with each compartment, gate members movable across the material discharges, an operating lever for the gate members, and means readily removably mounting said operating lever whereby the same may be detached when it is desired to collapse the bin structure 6. In a collapsible bin structure, the combination of a bottom plate and a support therefor, and side members pivotally secured to the bottom plate and adapted to form a bin therewith, the side members being adapted to swing down against the support when in inoperative position.

7. In a collapsible bin structure, the combination of a bottom member having a support for mounting the same in an elevated position, said bottom member having a discharge opening therein, side members collapsibly secured to the bottom member adjacent its marginal edges and adapted to form a bin therewith, said side members being movable to a collapsed inoperative position to reduce the height of the structure, a gate for the discharge opening, and operative means for the gate adapted to be connected to one side member when in operative position.

8. In a collapsible bin structure, the combination of a bottom plate and a support therefor. the bottom plate being provided with a discharge opening. side members pivotally secured to the bottom plate and adapted to form a bin therewith, the side members being adapted to swing down against the support when in inoperative position, a gate for the discharge opening, and operative means for the gate.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

MORGAN R. BUTLER. 

